Causes of increased appetite and how to reduce it. Why are you so sick of hunger

An excellent appetite always causes emotion in our mothers and grandmothers. But what if it develops into obsession, preventing you from working normally, falling asleep, resting, feeling happy? What serves as its catalyst? What problems might be hiding behind? similar condition? How to find a way out of the maze called “Eternal Hunger”? And finally, is it possible to defeat the uncontrollable desire to eat, snack, and refresh yourself? Let's break it all down.

Increased appetite: reasons

It must be said that increased appetite has multiple causes, but the main ones can be divided into two groups: psychological and physiological.

The first includes various emotional factors, such as:

chronic depression and apathy;
exhaustion of the nervous system;
overwork;
severe nervous shock;
regular stress.

If you feel that you are close to nervous exhaustion, in an attempt to avoid it, you overeat and are unable to independently resist psychogenic hunger either by self-control or by safely exiting the emerging difficult situation, you should immediately seek the help of a psychotherapist.

Otherwise, there is a considerable risk that your psychological problems will be supplemented by obesity and other health problems.

The second is the results of our careless attitude towards ourselves, such as:

absence correct mode nutrition;
dehydration of the body;
lack of sleep;
excessive physical exercise.

It is important to know!

Increased appetite may indicate dysfunction endocrine system, digestive system and even indicate a possible brain tumor. So if you are seriously concerned inexplicable feeling hunger, before taking any steps, you should see a doctor and get everything checked necessary tests, in order to exclude these objective causes or begin to eliminate health problems.

I am constantly hungry – is the reason psychological?

As mentioned earlier, the reasons that you constantly want to eat lie not only in physiology. So, this issue needs to be approached thoroughly and comprehensively. In order to understand what type of hunger is tormenting you - physical or related nervous system– listen to the sensations arising within yourself. A number of symptoms will serve as a clue.

Psychological hunger:

sudden appearance;
craving for a certain type food;
desire to eat here and now;
automatic absorption of food (without pleasure);
remains even when, it would seem, already full.

Physiological hunger:

gradual appearance;
the need for energy replenishment;
not so categorical about food (satisfied with everything that is in the refrigerator);
eating as a conscious process;
recedes upon saturation.

How to reduce appetite correctly?

"Freshwater" menu

The student's "if you want to eat - drink water" is very relevant! Experts recommend drinking a glass of non-carbonated water before each meal. mineral water. This will lead to some filling of the stomach, which means that the feeling of fullness will come faster and you will eat much less.

This method is both effective and beneficial, since it is not advisable to drink liquid after meals, because it reduces the concentration of gastric juice.

A few sips of water taken before meals not only reduce the feeling of hunger, but also kickstart the digestive process.

You can also reduce your appetite by reducing the use of salt and spices in your kitchen or completely abandoning them. Spices irritate the taste buds and only cause an increase in appetite, but there are also back side medals: they also act as causative agents of “hunger for love”, being excellent aphrodisiacs.

In this regard, it is worth thinking about what exactly you give priority to.

And soup and cottage cheese!

You will get good satiety from soups cooked with chicken or vegetable broth. Such dishes have low calorie content. In addition, beans, lentils, peas and other legumes should be added to daily diet nutrition, as they also quickly reinforce the body.

In case of a snack, let them have: skim cheese, yogurt, fruit.

Frequent snacks, but no coffee!

To avoid overeating, it is recommended to increase the frequency of meals to five times a day, while the portion sizes should be small and the diet should be low in calories.

You should also say goodbye to alcohol and coffee, as active appetite stimulants.

Leave beautifully...

A good habit is to eat slowly and slowly, carefully chewing every bite. You should leave the table with light feeling hunger. This is due to the fact that the feeling of fullness occurs only after some time has passed from the start of the meal.

We'll have to put pressure

You can also curb your appetite by performing simple manipulations. For example, press your middle finger on the acupuncture point between the nose and lip.

Time to brush your teeth

To quickly but briefly drive away the obsession with snacking, rinse your mouth with water, plain water, but preferably mint water. Brushing your teeth with toothpaste will have the same effect.

You can also use aromatherapy - sniff citrus peels and special oils.

How to reduce your appetite in order to lose weight and not harm yourself?

Currently there are many medications, designed to both reduce your appetite and your body weight. But they should be used with extreme caution, as there is a risk of encountering a number of side effects as high blood pressure, a mental disorder caused by the drug’s attack on the part of the brain that gives the command that it’s time to eat.

The slightest overdose can lead to sad consequences, even death!

Therefore, if you want to correct your figure, consult a doctor and follow his recommendations! The specialist will tell you in detail how to reduce your appetite in order to lose weight without jeopardizing your health.

On a note!

Don't resort to crash diets fast weight loss. They may entail hormonal disbalance and, as a result, increased appetite. When you return to your previous diet, the kilograms you lost will quickly return.

Simple and healthy foods that reduce appetite

Anyone who is curious to know how to reduce appetite at home will find it useful to familiarize themselves with the list of foods that tame the feeling of hunger. They are rich in fiber, which swells in the intestines and on a long period guaranteeing satiety. These products will usefully diversify your daily diet; add them to salads, first and second courses to suit your taste.

Foods that reduce the desire to eat:

various types of bran (oat, wheat, rye);
sprouted grains of wheat, buckwheat;
raw vegetables (cabbage, zucchini, pumpkin, carrots, avocado);
fresh fruits (apples, bananas, apricots, pineapple, blueberries);
dried fruits (figs, dried apricots, prunes).

You can also discover a green pharmacy using appetite-suppressing herbs. Their use will be most effective in cases where the feeling of hunger awakens at a specific period of time: stress during a session, excitement before a wedding, during menstruation.

Herbs that reduce appetite:

aerial parts of wintergreen or hellebore;
marshmallow root;
flax seeds;
liquorice root;
seaweed;
burdock leaves.

Preparation: pour boiling water over a tablespoon of the available raw materials (dried or fresh) and let it brew for several hours. The decoction retains its usefulness throughout the day, so it should be prepared daily.

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It seems to me that each of us has encountered increased appetite at some point in our lives. For some it goes away in a couple of days and is forgotten for a long time, for others it is a systematic phenomenon...

Some girls become so immersed in the fight against increased appetite that the usual need for food is perceived negatively by them. The result is anorexia. Not just a loud scary word, but real disease, leading to a complete breakdown of metabolism and psyche, and sometimes to lethal outcome. Therefore... everything is good in moderation!

And most importantly, before you fight anything, you need to find out the reason. Without knowing it, you can choose the wrong key to solving the problem and only make the situation worse. So, let's try to understand the reasons that occur most often.

1. Change hormonal balance

Hormones play a fairly large role in our lives, and here we women generally have a hard time. Any change - a certain phase of the cycle or its failure, not to mention pregnancy or menopause, can result in increased appetite.

During PMS it is very difficult to control yourself both in terms of food and increased irritability. Of course, if these symptoms have become prohibitive, you need to consult a gynecologist to adjust the hormonal balance.

In less severe cases, such intervention is not required. However... you need to “turn on” your willpower, which not everyone can do and not always. There is no need to starve yourself at this time, you will only make it worse.

But letting the situation take its course is also not an option. If, with a sudden desire to have a snack closer to the night, you cannot replace the chocolate bar with an orange or an apple, then you can allow yourself your favorite sweet, but in reasonable quantities.

2. Stress, emotional overload

During times of severe mental turmoil, there can be two reactions - either you cannot eat anything at all, or you eat a lot and the most delicious (and often harmful). Both are equally bad. In the context of this topic, I am considering the second option.

If increased appetite is caused precisely by this reason, then there is no need for diets at all. Efforts should be directed in a completely different direction - moderate physical activity, massage, alternating active and passive rest, perhaps consulting a psychologist or psychotherapist.

However, if strong stressful situations are a permanent factor, these measures will have only a temporary effect. And serious changes will require drastic changes in life, which we cannot always organize. But... in any case, sooner or later we will have to learn to change our attitude towards those situations in which we are powerless. There's no way without this...

3. Spikes in blood sugar

If there are no other explainable causes, and increased appetite is a concern, you need to get tested for blood sugar levels. Better yet, if possible, buy a glucometer and monitor the readings for a couple of weeks - in the morning before meals and 1.5-2 hours after meals.

Sugar spikes are very dangerous. First, they threaten acquired diabetes (type II), if it is not yet. Secondly, they have an extremely negative impact on the entire vascular system with all that it implies...

The main thing is not to let your problems go, but to solve them as they arise, so as not to turn them into a huge tangle from which it will be impossible to get out...

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Education: Tula State University, Institute of high-precision systems, specialty power engineering. Graduated with honors. I have scientific work, invention, patent. Coaching experience: 4 years. Sports merit: CCM in powerlifting.

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A necessary and sufficient condition is a caloric deficit of the diet. This means that you should be getting fewer calories from food than you are expending. Many people have serious problems with this, as they constantly want to eat more. In this article we will look at possible reasons inadequate strong appetite and ways to bring it back to normal.

Cause constant feeling hunger can be conditionally divided into metabolic and psychological causes.

Metabolic causes of excessive appetite

Low sensitivity (tolerance) to leptin

Leptin is a hormone that causes a feeling of fullness and is synthesized by adipose tissue. However, if long time support high level leptin, tolerance (insensitivity) develops to it. Accordingly, the body "thinks" that there is not enough food, despite the fact that in fact it is in excess. This usually occurs in obese people. Many obese people are hungry all the time, no matter how much they just ate.

Symptoms:

Rapid weight gain, mostly fat.
Bad mood, low energy.
Restless sleep.
Sweating.
The feeling of hunger can be muffled, but not completely eliminated.
You cannot go 5-6 hours without food.
After waking up, you feel overwhelmed.

The best diagnosis is a leptin test. Gives up after 8-14 hours of fasting. If leptin is high, take action.

The goal is to reduce leptin levels, then sensitivity to it will gradually increase and appetite will normalize. What to do for this?

1. Remove everything fast carbohydrates from the diet. They stimulate insulin secretion much more than slow ones. High insulin levels first cause leptin resistance, and only then insulin resistance (type 2 diabetes). Insulin and leptin are interconnected. Changing the level of one changes the level of the other. Insulin increases leptin production. And those who always have a lot of it in their blood sooner or later develop leptin resistance. In addition, insulin is the most strong hormone, stimulating the synthesis of fatty acids.

2. Get more sleep. A person needs 7-8 hours of sleep per day. Lack of sleep for 2-3 hours a day already after 2 days increases the level of ghrelin (a hormone that stimulates appetite) by 15%, and reduces the production of leptin by 15%.

3. Lose weight. This is the most difficult recommendation to implement, but also the most effective. The mechanism is simple. Less fat - less leptin - higher sensitivity to it - normal appetite.

4. Speed up your metabolism. This will normalize metabolism, bring insulin and leptin to normal. The best option– and frequent (preferably every day) exercise.

Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism – insufficient secretion of hormones thyroid gland– thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), which regulate metabolic rate. With hypothyroidism it slows down. This, which also increases the amount of leptin in the blood. Diagnosis – analysis of thyroid hormones. Treatment is with an endocrinologist. This usually consists of taking thyroid hormones.

hypogonadism

Hypogonadism is insufficient production of androgens, primarily testosterone. Androgens normalize the secretion of leptin, and without them its level increases. Metabolism also slows down and the level of estrogen in the blood increases, which stimulates obesity and increases appetite even more, with a particular craving for sweets. As a result, the amount of muscle quickly decreases, and fat increases. At the same time, your appetite gradually increases.

Diagnosis - take tests for sex hormones. Treatment is only with an endocrinologist.

Elevated prolactin

Prolactin is a hormone secreted by the pituitary gland. Prolactin is most often elevated due to contraception, pregnancy (this will be considered normal), as a result of taking AAS (androgenic-anabolic steroids). Among other effects, it retains water in the body, stimulates fat gain, and increases appetite, especially cravings for carbohydrates. Increases leptin secretion.

Symptoms:

whiny mood
want sweets;
reduced libido;
irritability;
edema.

The best diagnosis is a prolactin test. It is easy to treat - taking Dostinex 0.25 -0.5 mg once every 4 days. Consultation with an endocrinologist is recommended, since high prolactin levels can be a symptom of serious diseases.

Lack of water

Extremely common reason insatiable hunger. Areas of the brain responsible for eating behavior, thirst and hunger are often confused. Drink 30-40 grams clean water per 1 kg of weight per day.

electrolyte deficiency

In this case, your body is trying its best to replenish them, and to do this it tries to consume as much as possible. more food. The solution to this problem is very simple - drink a lot of mineral water for several days or weeks. It’s very easy to choose the one that is right for you in composition - it will seem tastier than others. Try it different varieties, and find a suitable option.

vitamin deficiency

Similar to the previous case. The body needs vitamins, and it tries to get them from where it can. The solution is to take a vitamin-mineral complex, preferably in double or triple dosages, to eliminate the deficiency quickly.

Psychological causes of excessive appetite

For many people, the response is a feeling of hunger. There is only one way out - get rid of stress, get more rest. Sleep at least 8 hours a day. Limit your time on the Internet and watching TV. It is also useful to receive nootropic drugs. Contact a psychologist or neurologist.

Lack of control over diet

Simply put, the habit of eating a lot. Extremely widespread. The way out of this situation is to calculate in advance what, how much and when you will eat. At the same time, it is very useful to prepare all the food for the day in advance and pack it in portions. Effectiveness for weight loss if you follow the regimen and proper diet- absolute.

It’s strange that in Russia everything related to food and appetite is traditionally attributed to men, not women. All these: “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach” or “the main thing is to feed the man.” Here nefig not the main thing. The man is a male. He can endure hunger, he can eat anything, and he can always feed himself. These are the signs of a real man. I don’t understand where a nation of war heroes and space explorers came up with this stereotype with a lazy body lying on the sofa, which, like Small child, cannot feed himself, and which can be tamed by preparing borscht for him. That's bullshit. The man and the kitchen are one. This is his territory and sphere of influence. Feeding our female is the initial and primary task for us, men.

And the task of the female is.

After all, if, okay, the way to the heart of some men is through the stomach, then for women the road to a happy, kind, beautiful, smart, faithful, healthy person runs through the stomach - and then you name it: wife, girlfriend, partner, life partner, colleague. Doesn't matter. All well-fed women are angelic beings, grateful to the one who did this to them.

Seriously. Have you seen at least once that a well-fed woman would be angry and dissatisfied with life? This does not happen in nature. All these aggressive women who hate everyone around them are just women who are half-starved and constantly thinking about how to feed themselves and those around them. And the wives sawing their husbands are also only housewives driven in the kitchen. The attitude towards his wife: “cook, serve, bring” is the worst thing a man can do to a woman.

I believe that if there is a place for a woman in the kitchen, it is at the table, not at the stove. With a fork in hand and a satisfied smile, looking forward to a delicious dinner. The maximum is pastries and sweets. Here they have an advantage, no doubt. Otherwise, food and cuisine is a man's business. At least once a week, on weekends, a man must feed his woman delicious food. good sex And tasty food- that's what you need to attract women. It's like sun and water for plants; if you have it, the relationship will grow and develop.

Appetite is the most important thing in a woman. Likes to eat - so good healthy woman. And if she constantly snorts at her food and whines that “I will do this, but I won’t do that, I can’t do this, and this is not tasty,” then something is wrong with her. And in the scientific and medical sense. A good appetite is a sign of health. normal operation body.

In this sense, I am not a big fan or supporter of diets. After all, if you turn off marketing, which needs to sell a couple of Borodina’s next “diets” or another revolutionary complex “Lose Weight in 7 Days,” then the diet normal person does not depend on whether he is going to lose weight or not. If there are no medical prescriptions indicated by a doctor, then we all need good nutrition. No frills, but also no sharp restrictions.

The best (and only effective) way to lose weight is to find a balance between “I want” and “I need.” “I want” a lot of sweets, but “I need” less sweets. “I want” spicy-fried food, but “I need” vegetables and fruits. There is no need to prohibit or completely limit, you just need to learn to find a balance. You can go point by point. During the week “I want”: cake, wine, burger, chips, ice cream. “I need” soup, fresh vegetables, fish, buckwheat, boiled chicken, cottage cheese. And that's it. Take the same dose of the first and second and on average you will have an adequate diet modern man. And the same thing with activity: “I want” to lie down and watch TV series, but “I need” to go for a two-hour walk. "I want" to go to the movies, but "I need" to go rollerblading in the park.

And most importantly, unlike all “quick-fix” diets, it is harmless. To be healthy and happy - you really need to eat "everything in a row." All these “I don’t eat meat”, “I don’t eat fish”, “I don’t eat vegetables”, “I don’t eat bread” - lead to an unbalanced diet, and this is not good. The only thing you need to strive to reduce is the consumption of sugar. But this is a separate topic.

Therefore, if you are a woman and you love to eat - you are the right healthy woman. You are cheerful and you have a taste for life. You're fine! Well, if you are a man, then be sure to choose exactly these for yourself and feed them more often. You will be surprised how prosperous your union will be.

Dear Evgeniy Olegovich, I read your book and many useful information Online. Many questions have been clarified, but, however, I have not found an answer to one question that worries me very, very much, although, probably, this worry is a consequence of my personal experiences and complexes. But I'll start from the beginning. My son is one year and 2 months old, there are no health problems, except that he doesn’t sleep well at night. But I've already come to terms with this, probably time - best doctor. Now I'm talking about something else. On your website, I have seen many complaints from parents that the child is not eating well and is not gaining weight, to which you advise the child not to torture or stuff the child with food. And that's right, but I have another problem. My is eating. And he eats very well. And it seems to me that no matter how much you give him, he will eat everything. It seems that after each meal he would eat the same amount. Let me explain why this worries me so much. Both my family and my husband have a tendency to be overweight. The only difference is that my husband was a skinny child as a child, ate poorly and began to gain weight after returning from the army. I had a different situation. I was raised by my grandmother (a situation you have described many times), who fed me until I was sick. The result did not make an impact - all my life I have been fighting with overweight, the slightest relaxation in food leads to constant weight gain. Take my word for it, this is not a lady's coquetry because of 42 or 44 sizes. That is, in order to look and feel normal (normal is 67/68 kg with a height of 165, I checked, if I weigh less, I already feel bad, as soon as I move my legs), I need to limit myself very strictly. At the same time, my mother has 3 degrees of obesity. That is, the son has someone to be plump. And I myself know very well what it’s like to be a fat child: ridicule, complexes, malicious teachers in physical education class, and in adolescence - diets, tantrums, nerves because you want to eat and the diet is "not maintained." But for a boy to be fat is even worse. What do I see as my child’s problem? All my life I believed that my mother’s, my husband’s, and mine’s obesity was the result of incorrect eating habits. But now I feed my baby strictly according to the doctors’ recommendations, and I even cut him down in some ways compared to his peers (I have someone to compare me with - I have several close friends who gave birth almost simultaneously with me, with an interval of 1-2 month). At the same time, all the children of my friends by the age of one or two had already stopped gaining much weight, stopping at the level of 10.5 -11 kg on average with a height of 80, and almost all of them began to, as they say, “eat poorly.” My Egorka, with a height of 80, weighs 12,300, and is not going to refuse anything from food. I understand that you will answer that this is more or less within the norm, but! What worries me is that he clearly gains 300-350 grams every month. Judging by the literature that I read, this is a lot for a child after one year. And this despite the fact that I really measure every gram and he even goes to bed with me practically without dinner (maybe he sleeps poorly because of this - I once gave him kefir at night, he immediately fell asleep, but the doctors dissuaded me, saying that if he gets used to eating at night, you won’t be able to make him sleep at night). Although if I give him a heavier meal before bed, he still wakes up at night (that is, it’s not a matter of food or drink). My friends and I have the same doctor, and we feed our children the same according to her recommendations. But their children hardly gain any weight, and mine gains three hundred grams every month! I'm just afraid that if now, under my control, he is swelling, then what will happen when he gets older, learns to speak and asks me for food? I can’t explain to a 2-3 year old child why I don’t give him food on such high principles. That is, if now, even with restrictions, everything is “horse fodder”, then what will happen when he starts asking for (and taking!) extra? Please tell me what standards to follow in feeding a child after 1 year. Otherwise, the diet of children under one year of age is prescribed everywhere, and after one year there is a complete vacuum. A loving grandmother - my mother - generally strives to feed him faster as an adult, i.e. with all that sugar and fat that brought her to her 3rd stage of obesity. Of course, I can fight with my parents, they are more or less obedient (since my husband and I are no longer children ourselves, I’m 33, he’s 36, we’re completely independent from them financially and we can’t listen to their instructions), but how will I to fight with own child? I fearfully wait for the time when he learns to ask for food himself. Even now we can’t have a normal dinner - he screams for him to be given something too (although usually dinner is at 8 - when my husband comes home from work - and the baby ate at 6 (100 grams of cottage cheese + 100 grams of fruit), I think for one year old baby a lot, and by 8 o'clock he is clearly not hungry). Just in case, I give an approximate nutrition schedule - maybe I overfeed him? Although this is not the problem: I can cut down on the portion, but how can I cut down on his desire to eat? So, 5 or 6 am - 200 gr. fermented milk mixture 10.00 - porridge (180 gr.) + 40-50 gr. juice (half with water) 14.00 - 100 gr. vegetable puree + 100 gr. meat (or 60 gr. fish) + the same amount of juice with water 18.00 - 100 gr. cottage cheese + 100 gr. fruits (does not drink after fruits) 21.30 - kefir + 2 cookies Please tell me what we can change? Or maybe something else will change with age? They consoled me that he would start walking and lose weight, he is already walking (he walked at the age of one year and 1 month), but there is no visible thinness. Of course, outwardly he is not fat, and the doctors think that I am panicking in vain and that everything is normal, but I am afraid - what if he, like me, needs fewer calories to live than others, and his desire to eat is the same like all people. So it turns out that he eats the same as everyone else, but gets fat more. Where can I read something on the topic of nutrition for children after a year? Please excuse the somewhat overloaded and chaotic message. But this is really a "cry from the heart" and a problem that, in my opinion, is not consecrated anywhere. Although, of course, it sounds strange and even idiotic: the child eats well, but the mother is unhappy.

Thanks in advance for your reply Best regards, Lika

Hello Lika!

All of what you describe is not a sign that the child is sick with something. The main thing is to understand. Excess weight there is always a discrepancy between the amount of energy a person consumes and the amount he spends. The child has no problems with nutrition (that is, your actions are correct). I don't think it's health related either. It’s just that now you should focus on a lifestyle in which the opportunity to spend energy will be maximum. Do not overheat, wear clothing that does not restrict movement, stay away from the TV, introduce sports in a timely manner, have a day off in nature, not in front of the computer, etc. Those. It is very important that you do not focus specifically on food, but now think about how to teach your child to get up 2 hours before school, go for a run, do gymnastics, take cold shower... Yes, hereditary factors are present, but they manifest themselves in the form of obesity only when a person gives up and stops controlling himself. And reading “on the topic of nutrition” is a dead end (from my, however, very subjective point of view). All the best.